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Checkpoint with Lisa Owen is RNZ’s weekday drive-time news programme, Our people, stories and breaking news and interviews from 4-6pm.
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Australia correspondent Nick Grimm spoke to Lisa Owen about political conservatives in Australia continuing to endure upheaval, with the opposition there undergoing leadership instability and polls showing the coalition parties haemorraging support to hard-right party One Nation.
A moggy with a taste for mince is on the prowl in Kerikeri. Keen hunter, Bella the cat burglar, has been bringing home a surprising midnight feast for her owners, sausage rolls in brown paper bags. In a bizarre series of gift giving that might sound unbelievable, Bella's sausage roll deliveries have happened not once, not twice, but three times, prompting a post on Facebook in search of answers. Bella's owner Siran Young spoke to Lisa Owen.
News from the business sector, including a market report.
An alleged culture of sexism, favouritism and bullying is what drove one of the top kiwi boxers to hang up her gloves. The Sport Integrity Commission has been investigating Boxing NZ and its head coach Billy Meehan who Commonwealth Games medalist Tasmyn Benny says killed her passion for the sport. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.
This story deals with suicide and mental health. The parents of a Tauranga teenager who took her own life are calling for improvements to the country's mental health system. 16-year-old Maddie Hall died in March 2023, almost three years after she was first taken to hospital. Timothy Brown reports.
Thousands of reports have flooded in about a vile, sickening smell coming from Christchurch's burnt out waste water treatment plant. The pong has plagued the suburb of Bromley and surrounding areas - since a fire there in 2021, but this latest bout of stench has confused the city council, who say the January rain should've improved the odour. Environment Canterbury said it has received more than 2000 reports through its Smelt-it Ap - some from as far away as Wigram, around 10 kilometres away. Christchurch reporter Anna Sargent spoke to Lisa Owen.
As the school year gets underway, recently released data shows while the number of students regularly turning up to school is improving it is still a long way from the government's goal of 80 percent of students present more than 90 percent of the time. Provisional data for term 4 of last year shows 57.3 percent of students were regularly in class, for Māori it was 43 percent, and just over 39 percent for Pasifika. President of the New Zealand Pasifika Principals Association Bert Iosia spoke to Lisa Owen.
A pediatric specialist is urging Aotearoa's drug agency to fund weight loss drugs for teenagers. A Pharmac advisory panel has provisionally recommended funding Wegovy for chronic weight management in people with high BMI's and associated conditions. Professor of paediatric endocrinology at the Liggins Institute, Wayne Cutfield spoke to Lisa Owen.
Social media giant Meta says banning young people from its platforms will never work but supporters of a law change are crying foul, saying the owner of Facebook and Instagram is using the same tactics as big tobacco. Finn Blackwell has more.
Over $170,000 of desperately needed money has been raised for whanau in the flood ravaged East Cape of the North Island. But the chair of Manaaki Matakaoa says locals are in for a long slog when the initial response dies down and the community is left to ready themselves for the next bout of heavy weather. Bill Hickman has more.
Squash will debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and with the qualifying procedure now revealed it is good news for New Zealand's top player. There will be a men's and a women's competition with 16 players in each draw at the Olympics, and world number two Paul Coll is in line to make history. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.
The National Iwi Chairs Forum has unanimously backed a High Court challenge from Hauraki iwi Ngāti Manuhiri against the Governments Marine and Coastal Area Act passed last year. The Act makes it harder for Māori groups to win customary title; a move the government says restores the legislation to its "original intent". The forum is meeting at Waitangi this week and will tomorrow meet with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Māori News journalist Pokere Paewai spoke to Lisa Owen from Waitangi.
US correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen about Bill and Hillary Clinton agreeing to give evidence about their relationship with dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before Congress, as well as federal immigration agents in Minneapolis who will soon have to wear body cameras following the fatal shootings of two US citizens last month.
A gear change in driver licensing has some instructors concerned. The government has unveiled the first major changes to the system in 15 years, meaning drivers won't have to sit a second practical test when they go for their full licence. Under 25s will spend 12 months on their learner licence instead of the current six. For under 25s the time spent on a restricted licence is reducing from up to 18 months down to a year. New Zealand Institute Driver Educators president and Paeroa driving instructor Mark Revill-Johnson spoke to Lisa Owen.
United Kingdom correspondent Diane To spoke to Lisa Owen about Prince Andrew facing more pressure over his ties to the lat convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as others who have been caught up in Epstein's web.
News from the business sector, including a market report.
Several new laws will take affect in the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, including reducing the influence of the much-maligned TMO. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.
A Dunedin Wildlife Hospital suspects modern windows could be to blame for an increasing number of serious injuries in Aotearoa's native wood pigeon or Kereru. Window strike is the most common reason for Kereru ending up in hospital, hundreds of them over the past few years. Survival rates are also down to due to the severity of the injuries. General manager of Wildlife Hospital Dunedin, Suzanne Stephenson spoke to Lisa Owen.
Efforts are underway to salvage a damaged catamaran that ran aground in Canterbury's Banks Peninsula at the weekend. The Black Cat Cruises vessel got into trouble during a return journey on Akaroa Harbour, prompting the rescue of dozens of people on board. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has begun an investigation while local authorities try to quell the impact of thousands of litres of spilt diesel on the harbour. Adam Burns reports.
The government has revealed its new school report for students aged five to 15 and has said it will give parents clearer more consistent information on how their children are progressing. The report card will describe a child's achievement in reading, writing and maths using a five-point achievement scale. They are emerging, developing, consolidating, proficient and exceeding. Principal at Berkley Normal Middle School in Hamilton, Nathan Leith spoke to Lisa Owen.
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thank you
disgusting :'(
Religions have been getting everything for free for far too long. A lot of people are sick of archaic religions having different rules than everyone else.
Has NZ received a official proof of the alleged chemical attack from independent international investigation organisations such as OPCW?